Lowe’s Shares Rise on Sales Beat, Increase in Full-Year Outlook
- CEO says demand from contractors led to forecast boost
- Analysts say Lowe’s gave more earnings details than Home Depot
Lowe’s shares rose as much as 3.5% in premarket trading in New York on Wednesday.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Lowe’s Cos. beat Wall Street’s sales expectations and raised its full-year outlook as professional contractors increasingly turn to the home-improvement retailer for their materials.
The company now predicts comparable sales will rise as much as 1% this year, according to a statement Wednesday, compared with an earlier forecast calling for at best no change from the prior year. Gross margin is seen improving slightly for the year and total sales are expected to be in the range of $97 billion to $99 billion, above prior projections.